Following the conclusion of the 20th Central Committee’s fifth plenary session of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), ongoing purges within the military have persisted. On November 4th, it was reported that General Wang Ning, former commander of the Chinese armed police, along with three others, had their qualifications as members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) revoked. Wang Ning was also relieved of his positions as a standing committee member and vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the CPPCC. This marks the third consecutive instance of a commander of the armed police being dismissed.
According to reports from state media Xinhua, the afternoon of November 4th saw the closing of a meeting of the 14th Standing Committee of the CPPCC in Beijing. During this meeting, decisions were made to revoke Shen Changyu’s qualifications as a standing committee member of the 14th CPPCC and to accept his resignation, as well as to dismiss Wang Ning from his roles in the CPPCC and revoke his membership. Furthermore, the qualifications of Zhang Jianming, Yu Yanhong, and Wang Tongzhou as standing committee members of the CPPCC were also revoked.
Publicly available information reveals that Wang Ning, originally named Wang Luning, was born in August 1955 and has held various significant military positions, including commander of an air defense regiment and brigade, commander of the 31st Army’s air defense brigade, and other leadership roles in the Shanghai Garrison and Jiangxi Military District. He served as the commander of the 31st Group Army starting November 2007, became the chief of staff of the Beijing Military Region in December 2010, and was appointed as the deputy chief of staff of the armed forces in July 2013. From December 2014 onward, he held key positions including commander of the armed police and member of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission.
From February 2021 to March 2023, Wang served as the deputy chairman of the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC), and from March 2023 to November 2026, he was part of the standing committee of the 14th CPPCC, as well as vice chairman of the foreign affairs committee.
Notably, Wang Ning is part of the second generation of revolutionary leaders (红二代) and military elites (军二代). His father was a deputy-level officer in the Nanjing Military Region, and his father-in-law, Du Ping, was one of the early generals promoted after the establishment of the CCP, serving as a political commissar in the Nanjing Military Region. His uncle was Gu Hui, a former commander of the same military region and a general.
What stands out is that Wang Ning has connections with other high-ranking officials who have also been purged, including the former Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, He Weidong, and former Military Commission member Miao Hua. Many of these officials originated from the Nanjing Military Region and the 31st Group Army, which has traditionally been seen as closely associated with Xi Jinping, who served in Fujian for many years.
Ahead of the 20th Central Committee’s fifth plenary session, insiders in Beijing disclosed that Xi Jinping plans to initiate a new round of purges within the senior ranks, aiming to consolidate power among those he considers to be his own.
As of now, there have been three consecutive dismissals of commanders from the armed police force. Aside from Wang Ning, his predecessor, General Wang Jianping, was removed from his position in 2016. Following Wang Ning, General Wang Chunling, who took over in 2020, was expelled from the Party and military in October 2025. Wang Chunling also belongs to the second generation of red elites.
In addition, General Zhang Hongbing, the political commissar of the armed police, was also removed from his position as a National People’s Congress representative alongside He Weidong and others in December 2025. Recently, Zhang Hongbing was expelled from the Party during the plenary session.
The 20th Central Committee’s fifth plenary session concluded on October 29 of this year. During this session, 33 members, including those from military backgrounds like Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, were expelled from the Party.
In the past three years, internal strife and purges within the Chinese military have escalated, with many generals taken down often being individuals whom Xi Jinping personally promoted and trusted.
Senior political analyst Chen Poko commented that Xi Jinping’s continuous purges of military leadership, even against those he has supported, reveal his challenges in appointing and maintaining control over the military.